People hang out at Houdini Plaza during the Mile of Music festival Aug. 10 in downtown Appleton. / Dan Powers/Post-Crescent Media

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Post-Crescent Media

Community snapshot

Until 1848, all of what is now Appleton was called Grand Chute in reference to the rushing falls of the Fox River. Appleton was chosen to honor Sarah Elizabeth Appleton, the wife of Amos A. Lawrence. It was first used by the Rev. Reeder Smith, another university founder. An Appleton cousin in Boston, Samuel Appleton, mistakenly came to think the town was named for him and was tricked into donating $10,000 to the university as an endowment for the library. Location: At the corner of Calumet, Outagamie and Winnebago counties. Population: 2013: 73,150; 2010: 72,623 Median age: 35 Median household income: $52,605 Municipal offices: City Hall, 100 N. Appleton St., Appleton, 920-832-6173, appleton.org

Don’t-miss places, events

• Fox Cities Performing Arts Center seats 2,100 and hosts local and Broadway shows on a 5,000-square-foot stage. The center opened in 2002. Website: foxcitiespac.com. • History Museum at the Castle: A Masonic temple built in 1923, this Norman Revival-style building offers educational programs and rotating exhibits of national and local relevance. Admission: Adults $7.50, children $3.50 . Website: myhistorymuseum.org. • Trout Museum of Art/Houdini Plaza, inside the Fox Cities Building for the Arts, houses a permanent collection of visual art sits nearby the revamped Houdini Plaza green space downtown. Admission: Adults $6, students $4, children 10 and under free. Website: troutmuseum.org. • Hearthstone House is the country’s first hydroelectric central power station using the Edison system. It opened in 1882. The house on the bluff preserves history and technological achievement and provides tours. Admission: Adults $6, children $3. Website: focol.org/hearthstone. • Building for Kids Children’s Museum offers a creative place for families in a two-story building downtown. Hands-on learning, educational exhibits, field trips and hosts 115,000 visitors a year. Admission: $7.25. Website: buildingforkids.org.

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Appleton, the hub for entertainment, business and industry in the Fox Cities, is on a mission to reinvent itself as an urban living environment.

The founding of the region’s largest city is a muddled history of Indian chiefs, French explorers, ministers, greedy land speculators and wealthy Boston merchants, according to the Appleton Public Library.

That first Bostonian, Amos A. Lawrence, founded Lawrence University, which began classes in 1849. The city grew up around the Fox River with prosperous paper mills that opened in 1853 and the nation’s first hydroelectric station in 1882.

It incorporated as a city in 1857 and became the Outagamie County seat.

Lawrence remains a major institution drawing 1,200 students to its 84-acre campus.

As a retail destination, the city’s downtown is core to a new initiative aimed at appealing to young professionals looking for urban living, said Mayor Tim Hanna.

“We’re one of the most walkable cities in America, we’re a safe bicycling community and one of the safest overall in the country,” Hanna said. “We’re aiming to continue to attract young talent looking for a wonderful community, which is at the heart of job creation and innovation.”

The downtown arts and entertainment district hosts more than 100 restaurants and retail shops, three museums and 7,000 employees. Among the largest employers are Appvion, Affinity Health System, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and West Corp.

Hanna pointed to new waterfront residential projects being constructed this year as proof the city is changing.

“We’re more and more culturally diverse every year and we’ve got all the elements of urban living.”